Apparatus for festooning sheet material



F. D. FowLER 2,035,227

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, APPARATUS-FOR FESTOONING SHEET MATERIAL i Marh24,193e. F, D'FOWLER 2,035,221

APPARATUS FOR FESTOONING SHEET MATERIAL i Filed Maron 23, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 @fw W Patented Mar. 24, 1936 APPARATUS FOR FESTOONING SHEET MATERIAL Fred D. Fowler, Newton, Mass., assignor to Hood Rubber Company, Inc., Watertown, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application March 23, 1935, Serial No. 12,571

2 Claims.

'Ihis invention'relates to apparatus for festooning a continuoussheet of material and is particularly useful where such sheet material has been coated and it is desired to dry the material without marking the coated surface.

In the manufacture of rubber and fabric articles, imitation leather, and similar materials, a continuous web or sheet of fabric or other fibrous material is coated with coating materials such as rubber compositions, cements, paints, varnishes,`and the like, and it is necessary to provide means for continuously drying such coatings as they are applied.

In order-to economize on space it becomes desirable to festoon the sheet material to expose ai great amount of surface thereof within a small amount of floor space, but such festooning devices as have been heretofore proposed have been of such construction as permanently to mark the sheet material where it was suspended from the stationary bars thereof, or to contact with both faces, preventing their use for drying freshly coated materials.

The principal objects of this invention are to accomplish festooning of the sheet material without contacting its coated side and without causing bar-marks o-n its surface, to accomplish festooning without substantial tension on the fabric, and without manual draping of the fabric, and to accomplish eiciency andv economy in operation.

Other objects will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device in its preferred form, parts being broken away to show the construction.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation taken from the right of Fig. l, the lower part of the device being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail View of the driving mechanism, taken from the right of Fig. 2, parts being broken away.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 1, parts being broken away, and parts in section.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the clutch and its control mechanism, shown partially in section, parts being broken away.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I6 designates a drying oven supplied with an inlet I I and outlet I2 for circulating air therethrough by means such as a blower (not shown). The oven is preferably rectangular in cross section andis supplied with heat by means of steam coils I n I3 arranged therein in any desired manner.

The means for conveying the fabric comprises l four shafts I4, I5, i6, I'I which extend horizontally, in parallel relation to each other, through bearings I8, I9, 26, and 2l, mounted on the oven walls. A pair of endless chains 22, 23 engage sprockets 24, 25, 26, 2'I fixed to these shafts, the arrangement being such that the chains pass in parallel relation across the top of the oven in the direction of the arrows, then down one end, then across the bottom and then up the other end to the starting point. At fixed intervalsI along these chains are bearings 23 in which are rotatably mounted rollers -29 having small sprocket wheels 33 attached thereto. Mounted along the upper reaches of the chains 22, 231s a pair of guide rails 3E, 32. On each guide rail is mounted a pair of bearings 33, 34 in which shafts 35, 35 are journaled. These shafts have small sprockets 3l', 38flxed thereto. A chain 39 is engaged by these sprockets and its .upper reach is guided parallel to the upper reach of the corresponding chain, 22 or 23, in such rela-k tion that sprockets Sii engage therewith.

Means are provided for driving the rolls 29 and the chains 22, 23 at such relative velocities that during the travel of a roller 29 lengthwise of the oven it is revolved a suicient amount to advance the sheet material by the length .of one of the festooned loops. This is accomplished by differential driving of chains 22, 23, and chai 39 as follows:

An electric motor 4E) carriers a sprocket 4I which, through a chain 42, drives a variable speed transmission 43, of the Reeves type. This, in turn, through gears 44, 45, drives a speed reducer 46 of the worm and gear type. A sprocket 41 on the speed reducer, through a chain 48, drives a sprocket 49 xed to a shaft 50. A sprocket 5I, fixed to shaft 53, drives a chain 52, which in turn drives a sprocket 53, xed to shaft 36, the arrangement being such that chains 39 are driven by the motor 40 through the variable speed device 43 and reduction gear 46. Shaft 36 also has a gear 54, which drives a gear 55, fixed to; shaft I5, which assures driving of the chains 22, 23 at a constant ratio to chains 39.

To provide for feeding of the fabric to the travelling rolls 29, a pulling roll 56 is rotatably mounted on the oven frame, in boxes 51, and an Vidle guide roll 58 is rotatably mounted in bearings above the shaft I4. The fabric 59 may be drawn from any sources, such as the roll 60,

by rotation of roll 56. Roll 56 is driven by a chain 90 from a sprocket 9| xed to a shaft 92. Shaft 92 also has xed thereto a gear 93, which meshes with a gear 6|, fixed to shaft 50, the arrangement being such that roller 56 delivers the desired length of fabric for one festooned loop as a roller 29 travels a distance equal to the spacing between rollers 29 along the chain.

Windup mechanism is provided for receiving the festooned fabric and rewinding it on a roll and is as follows: A pulling roll 62 is rotatably mounted in bearings 63, at the delivery endv of the device, and has a sprocket 64 fixed thereto. A chain 65 drives this sprocket from a sprocket 66 rotatably mounted on shaft 92. Sprocket 66 is provided with a jaw clutch member |56a on its hub adapted to be engaged by a sliding jaw clutch member 61, slidably mounted on a feather key on shaft 92. A coil spring 68 normally holds the clutch members in engagement. A sprocket 69 fixed to roll 62 engages a drive chain 16, which drives a sprocket 1| on a shaft 12. A gear 13 on the same shaft meshes with a pair cf gears 111, 15 fixed to a pair of cradle rolls 16, 11. Rolls 16, 11 are driven at the same surface speed as roll 52 and slightly faster than roll 56. The fabric delivered by the chains 22, 23 passes over roll 62 and under roll 15 and is rewound on a shell 18 supported by rolls 16, 11.

In order to avoid manual draping of the fabric over the festooning rolls, and to prevent stretching of the fabric due to the increased velocity of roll 62, a pair of web detector ngers 86, 8| are pivotally suspended from rods 82, 83 so as to be disposed in the path of the fabric When the fabric lays over rollers 29 in unlooped condition.A Web detector finger 96 is spaced from 8| by a distance equal to one half of the spacing of rolls 29. Each web detector carries a mercury tube electric Contact maker 39', 8|', the arrangement being such that as a roller 29 lifts a detector iinger in passing, it closes its contact, and when it hangs free, it opens its contact.

An electric solenoid 85, is mounted on a stationary part of the device and is adapted, when energized, to actuate an armature 86, which is connected by a bell-crank lever 81, to a shifter fork 88, which engages sliding clutch member 61, the arrangement being such that when the solenoid is energized by an electric current, the clutch member 61 is withdrawn and roll 62 stops its rotation. The contact elements 9| are connected in series with each other and in a circuit in series with solenoid 85 (see Fig. 5), being supplied with current from a source of current (not shown).

The arrangement is such that both detector fingers must lbe deected in order to energize the solenoid. Due to the spacing of the fingers only one at a time will be deflected by the passing of a roll 29, and this will not close the circuit, but should the fabric, laying over the rolls 29, not be looped, both fingers will be deected simultaneously, causing the solenoid to be energized, and stopping rolls 62 until looped fabric is under the detectors, whereupon the clutch will be automatically engaged by spring 68.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Fabric from the supply roll 6U, or from any other source, such as another machine on which the fabric has Ibeen coated, is led over feed roll 56 and guide roll 56, then across the upper reach of the roller conveyor and over pulling roll 62 and about shell 18. No draping of the fabric has been done.` The motor 40 is now started, but since detectors 80 and 8| are held up by the fabric, roll 62 does not rotate when the other mech- Vanisms start to operate.

The fabric is advanced over roll 58 faster than the advance of fabric over the driven conveyor rolls in the upper reach, resulting in a loop being formed between two rolls 29 adjacent guide roll 58. Advance of the chain conveyor causes looping of the fabric also below detectors 86, 8| resulting in temoprary starting of the roll 62, periodically, until a loop formed adjacent roll 58 reaches the detector position, whereupon roll 52 is engaged and operates continuously as long as looped fabric passes. Should the difference in velocity of rolls 62 and 56 in time cause straightening of the fabric therebetween, the detectors will again arrest rotation of roll 62.

As the rolls 29 are all rotating in the upper reach of the chain conveyor, the fabric is constantly shifted with relation thereto, eliminating all marks due to roll contact during drying.

As the detectors 89, Si are located at the delivery end of the conveyor they do not contact with the fabric until its coating has dried.

I claim:

1. Apparatus forv festooning a continuous web vof sheet material, said apparatus comprising a driven conveyor having rotatable web supporting rolls, means for driving said rolls as the conveyor is advanced, means for festooning the web on said conveyor, means for withdrawing the web from the conveyor, means for interrupting the operation of the withdrawing means when unfestooned fabric is delivered at the withdrawing means, and means automatically operating to resume withdrawal when festooned fabric approaches it.

2. Apparatus for festooning a continuous web of sheet material, said apparatus comprising a driven conveyor having a plurality of spaced web supporting rolls, means for simultaneously driving a plurality of said rolls while said rolls are passing in succession through a horizontal reach of the conveyor, means for delivering sheet material to ysaid conveyor, a roll adapted to withdraw sheet material from the conveyor, means for driving said roll, and means located in the horizontal reach of the conveyor for disconnecting said driving means. when the conveyed sheet material is not delivered in festooned condition.

FRED D. FOWLER. 

